Now I know what honor looks like...What honor looks like: The flash mob at Gate 38 of Reagan National AirportMay 23, 2012 - Honor is a hard term to describe. It doesn&#8217;t have a color or weight or shape. If someone were to ask me what honor looked like, I&#8217;d probably struggle with what to say.

But something happened on May 23, 2012 at 9:31 a.m. at Gate 38 of Reagan National Airport that might change that. A flash mob of sorts broke out. But not like you&#8217;ve seen on YouTube with highly choreographed dance numbers or people singing a song in unison. In fact, virtually all of the participants of this &#8220;flash mob&#8221; didn&#8217;t know they would be participating until moments before it happened.

Let me explain. Shortly before 9:30 over the loud speakers, a US Airways gate attendant announced that an Honor Flight of World War II veterans would be arriving momentarily and encouraged anyone passing by to help greet them. Five or six people looked like they were officially part of the welcoming committee, and the rest of the people in the secure section of the airport were regular old travelers going somewhere. Then I had a terrible thought. What if these veterans came off the plane and just those five or six individuals were there to greet them. I walked a gate over to help see the veterans out.

But &#8211; then it happened and frankly, I wasn&#8217;t expecting it. All throughout the terminal, people left their gates and gathered around gate 38. A few active military personnel in plain clothes approached the gate attendant and politely asked if they could join in the salute within the jet way as the heros first stepped off the plane. Every human being in the terminal stood at attention and faced the door. Someone held up an old newspaper from 1945 that had a banner headline that said, &#8220;Nazis Quit!&#8221; And when I saw that newspaper, I realized that World War II wasn&#8217;t just a chapter in a history book. It was men and women who saw an evil like the world has never seen before and traveled across the world to meet that evil. And they defeated it.

I wonder if in 1945, any of those brave soldiers could ever imagine that 67 years later, we&#8217;d still be basking in the freedom that they preserved. And some of those heros were about to walk through Gate 38. The first soldier walked through the door. Old, frail and needing help walking. And every person I could see in the entire airport stood and applauded. No &#8211; maybe cheered is more like it.

But here&#8217;s the thing &#8211; the applause didn&#8217;t stop. For a full 20 minutes, as veteran by veteran stepped out of the jet way, the US Airways wing of Reagan National Airport thundered in appreciation. Travelers stepped out for the opportunity to shake their hand while others held back tears. This is the America we picture in our heads. Heros getting a hero&#8217;s welcome and those who enjoy the freedom adequately conveying their gratitude. Now, I know what honor looks like.

Veteran Army Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha to get Medal of Honor for bravery in Afghanistan...Fourth living veteran of Afghanistan war to receive Medal of HonorJanuary 11, 2013 WASHINGTON &#8212; Former Army Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha will receive the Medal of Honor in February for his actions as a section leader in Afghanistan in 2009, the fourth living veteran of the war in Afghanistan to receive the award.

Romesha was section leader with Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division at combat outpost Keating in Kamdesh district, Afghanistan, on Oct. 3, 2009, when his unit came under heavy fire. According to written accounts by military historian Richard S. Lowry, enemy fighters launched an assault against the post, attacking from three sides and coming close to taking the ammunition supply point. Romesha led a counterattack to reclaim the ammunition bunker, Lowry wrote. Eight soldiers were killed in the firefight, which Lowry said lasted 12 hours.

Romesha, who enlisted in 1999 and left the Army in 2011, deployed to Afghanistan twice and to Iraq four times. He has several military decorations, including a Bronze Star, three Army Commendation medals and five Army Achievement medals. The attack on COP Keating remains one of the deadliest attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan and is chronicled in the book &#8220;The Outpost,&#8221; by Jake Tapper. In it, Tapper writes that Romesha is the son of a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Cedarville, Calif.

&#8220;His parents had hoped he would follow his father into the church leadership, and Romesha had in fact gone to seminary for four years during high school &#8212; from five till seven every morning &#8212; but ultimately it just wasn&#8217;t for him. He didn&#8217;t even go on a mission, a regular rite for young Mormon men. Romesha was better suited to this kind of mission, with guns and joes under his command.&#8221; Romesha lives in Minot, N.D., with his wife and three children.

The announcement of his award came the same day Afghan President Hamid Karzai met with White House and Pentagon officials to discuss the future of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The scarcity of battlefield valor awards has been a sore spot for veterans groups and lawmakers in recent years. Only seven men, including Romesha, have been awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Afghanistan since 2001, and only four have received the award for valor in Iraq.

Epic combat valor: Former soldier to receive Medal of HonorJanuary 11th, 2013 - A former U.S. Army staff sergeant will receive the nation's highest award for combat valor for his actions in repelling an insurgent onslaught in Afghanistan in 2009. He is the fourth living recipient to receive the award for service in Iraq or Afghanistan.

President Obama said on Friday that Clinton Romesha will receive the Medal of Honor next month. Romesha is being recognized for his courage while a section leader with Bravo Troop, 3-61 Cavalry, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, at combat outpost Keating. The assault on the outpost in the eastern province of Nuristan goes down as one of the deadliest attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

According to the citation accompanying the award, Romesha and fellow soldiers awakened to an attack by an estimated 300 enemy fighters occupying the high ground on all four sides of their complex. They were firing rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft guns and mortars. Romesha moved uncovered under intense enemy fire multiple times to muster reinforcements and fire on attackers. He took out an enemy machine gun team and, while engaging a second, was wounded by shrapnel when a generator he was using for cover was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.

He fought on undeterred, exposing himself to "heavy enemy fire" while moving "confidently about the battlefield. Romesha engaged and destroyed "multiple enemy targets." He also directed air support to destroy more than 30 enemy fighters and saved other wounded troops. "Staff Sergeant Romesha's heroic actions throughout the day long battle were critical in suppressing an enemy that had far greater numbers. His extraordinary efforts gave Bravo Troop the opportunity to regroup, reorganize and prepare for the counterattack that allowed the troop to account for its personnel and secure Combat Outpost Keating," according to the award citation.

According to the book, "The Outpost" by Jake Tapper, which examines the events leading up to and on the deadly day, Romesha exhibited intense courage and determination as the outnumbered U.S. troops and Afghan allies battled an enemy force numbering in the hundreds. Tapper says Romesha is the "son of a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church in Cedarville, California." His parents, according to the book "had hoped he would follow his father into the church leadership, and Romesha had in fact gone to seminary for four years during high school - from five till seven every morning - but ultimately it just wasn't for him."

Granny wantin' to know what took `em so long??...Lawmakers might seek probe into delay of Medal of HonorJanuary 15, 2013 WASHINGTON  A California congressman said Tuesday he was considering asking the Pentagon inspector general to investigate why President Barack Obama hasnt approved the nations highest military award for gallantry for a former Army captain whose nomination has been stalled at the White House since last summer.

Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr. said that before requesting a probe, he wanted to give the Army and the Defense Department a final opportunity to explain the delay in awarding the Medal of Honor to former Army Capt. William Swenson for valor for acts he performed during a 2009 battle in eastern Afghanistan. Seeking an inspector generals inquiry is something that were talking about if the Army and the Defense Department dont come out and say why Swenson hasnt been awarded the medal yet, said Hunter, a former Marine who served two combat tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. It shouldnt be complicated to come out and do the right thing.

In an interview with McClatchy Newspapers, Hunter said the holdup with Swensons decoration was emblematic of wider problems with a military award system that he has long charged lacks transparency and is susceptible to improper interference and manipulation. Therere too many political considerations in the Medal of Honor process, and I dont know what happens now with Secretary Panetta leaving  if that is going to delay things even more, Hunter said, speaking of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Congress shouldnt have to get involved in this. You simply want the awards process and the process within DoD to be transparent and to have people held accountable.

The White House didnt respond to an emailed request for comment. Lt. Col. Laurel Devine, the deputy director of Army Public Affairs, referred an inquiry to the Defense Department. George Little, a spokesman for Panetta, wrote in an email that he had no comment. Hunters remarks came four days after Obama announced that former Army Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha would receive the Medal of Honor for valorous actions during a clash in eastern Afghanistan that occurred three weeks after the battle for which Swenson was nominated. Romesha, of Minot, N.D., is only the fourth living recipient of the award from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Obama awarded then-Marine Cpl. Dakota Meyer the Medal of Honor in September 2011 for heroism in the same battle for which Swenson was nominated. Swenson, 33, of Seattle, declined to comment for this article. The first living Army officer nominated for the Medal of Honor in four decades, he resigned from the service in February 2011. He was nominated for gallantry in the Sept. 8, 2009, battle of the Ganjgal Valley, one of the most extraordinary military confrontations of the post-9/11 wars, a six-hour clash that erupted when some 50 to 60 Taliban-led insurgents ambushed a contingent of Afghan troops and border police and U.S. trainers.

Romesha givin' platoon credit...Army veteran credits Medal of Honor to platoon's valor January 16, 2013 A North Dakota veteran set to receive the Medal of Honor for courageous action during a 13-hour firefight in Afghanistan said Wednesday that doctors got most of the shrapnel out of him and his injuries "were nothing" compared to those suffered by some of his fellow soldiers.

"I've had buddies that have lost eyesight and lost limbs," Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha said during a news conference Wednesday. "I would rather give them all the credit they deserve for sacrificing so much. For me it was nothing, really. I got a little peppered, that was it." Romesha, 31, will receive the nation's highest military decoration for valor at the White House on Feb. 11. Romesha, who deployed out of Fort Carson, Colo., and also served twice in Iraq, will be the fourth living Medal of Honor recipient for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. The medal is for his actions while serving as a section leader during combat operations against an armed enemy at Combat Outpost Keating, which sits in a valley surrounded by mountains in Afghanistan's Nuristan Province.

Romesha said he was a little star struck when President Barack Obama called to tell him he'd be receiving the honor, and he wanted the president to know he was accepting for the rest of his troop and the platoon. He declined to go into detail about the firefight on Oct. 3, 2009, saying it wouldn't do justice to the great actions by so many other soldiers. He said he had a great team of guys prepared to handle anything thrown at them despite being outnumbered 300 to 50. "We weren't going to be beat that day," he said. "And seeing all those guys pull together, I mean you're not going to back down in the face of adversity like that. We were just going to win, plain and simple." Romesha, who works in oil field safety for Tioga-based KS Industries, lives in Minot with his wife, Tammy, and three children.

Tammy Romesha said she remembers the day she was told her husband was injured but already back to work, and it was quite some time before he was able to call her. "I had my friends. I had my Army buddies," she said. "He was with his family over there in his deployment, and I had my family for support. My Army family was there for me, and we were all there for each other."

Clinton Romesha, who grew up in Lake City, Calif., left the Army in April 2011 after nearly 12 years of service. He said the military and serving will always be dear to him, but he wanted to be a more family oriented. "It came to a point where that chapter in my life was coming to an end," he said. "And I made a decision that I wanted to be the father, the husband and the dad that I just hadn't been fulfilling." Tammy Romesha said she's looking forward to celebrating the couple's 13th anniversary the day after the award ceremony.

How Clint Romesha earned the Medal of Honor...Defending the "indefensible": Inside the deadly COP Keating battleFebruary 5th, 2013 - EDITOR'S NOTE: CNNs Jake Tapper takes viewers inside the deadly battle at Combat Outpost Keating in an exclusive interview with Romesha and others who fought off the Taliban attack. An American Hero: The Uncommon Valor of Clint Romesha will air Thursday, February 7th at 10pET on CNN.

Next week, President Barack Obama will award former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha the nation's highest award for combat valor for his actions in repelling a deadly insurgent onslaught in Afghanistan in October 2009. He is the fourth living recipient to receive the award for service in Iraq or Afghanistan. In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Romesha describes his thoughts about seeing Combat Outpost Keating for the first time. The remote outpost was at the foot of three large mountains and surrounded by a river on one side as well. By all military standards, the base was virtually impossible to defend because of the looming mountains that would ultimately give the Taliban a tactical advantage to shoot down into the base and offer deep cover to those fighters in the rocky mountainsides.

"This is a pretty indefensible spot. This is the exact opposite of when you open up the manual and look in to find the definition of finding a defensible spot, this is the total opposite of it," Romesha said in the interview with Tapper. Romesha is being recognized for his courage at COP Keating against the onslaught of hundreds of Taliban fighters. With just over 50 troops inside the tiny base, Romesha directed and led several charges to repel the 12 hour long attack and regain control of the outpost which had been overrun. The assault on the outpost in the eastern province of Nuristan goes down as one of the deadliest attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan with eight soldiers killed and more than 20 wounded.

Romesha tells Tapper in an emotional account about his failed attempt to save a close friend, taff Sgt. Justin T. Gallegos, who was trapped in a vehicle which had come under heavy Taliban fire. "There was movement everywhere. There was muzzle flashes everywhere. You just couldnt pick them out fast enough. I tried to hold it as long as I could but when youre the only machine gun pocking on the COP at that point you start drawing quite a bit of attention and finished the belt and scurried on back," Romesha said. "I called Gallegos and told him told I was sorry. I just told him I was sorry. I couldnt hold that position for him anymore and they were still stuck."

Useful Searches

About USMessageBoard.com

USMessageBoard.com was founded in 2003 with the intent of allowing all voices to be heard. With a wildly diverse community from all sides of the political spectrum, USMessageBoard.com continues to build on that tradition. We welcome everyone despite political and/or religious beliefs, and we continue to encourage the right to free speech.

Come on in and join the discussion. Thank you for stopping by USMessageBoard.com!